Test yields new class of National Master Hunter dogs

Test yields new class of National Master Hunter dogs

The dogs are judged on marking, style, perseverance and trainability as they retrieve birds during the different events. They have to meet certain standards at each test to remain in the running for the next day and ultimately the NMH title.

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

There are 12 new dogs that can claim the title of National Master Hunter.

The designation is one of excellence that is the highest standard a hunting dog in Canada can earn through the Canadian Kennel Club. For the owners of these dogs it is about more than chasing ribbons, their goal is to make the breed better and more effective in the work they have been bred for generations to do.

They were put through their paces last week during the Canadian National Master Hunt Trials hosted in Wabamun by the Alberta Clipper Hunting Retriever Association.

“There’s the average dog that’s your hunting companion, your house pet that goes out hunting on the weekend to get some birds,” said Sheldon Berrecloth from Tofield. “We wanted to see the sport thrive, we wanted to excel the sport, breed the best and work on a dog’s natural ability — excel the dog.”

Berrecloth has been breeding chocolate labradors for about 15 years and has been competing for about nine years. He had two dogs qualified in the field of 31 for the trial.

The trial ran over the course of five days, pushing the dogs in five different disciplines. Each of the disciplines highlights a different skill or hunting scenario. Throughout the week they tackled one set of multiple land marks, one set of multiple water marks, a land blind, a water blind, and an upland hunting test with quarter and flush.

The dogs are judged on marking, style, perseverance and trainability as they retrieve birds during the different events. They have to meet certain standards at each test to remain in the running for the next day and ultimately the NMH title.

“During the week it gets a little more progressively challenging,” said event chairperson Bill Marshall, a vice president with the ACHRA.

2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test

There were 12 new dogs who earned the title of National Master Hunter during the 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test in Wabamun, Aug. 17-23, 2019. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

The 2019 Canadian National Master Hunt Test brought in 35 dog owners and their labradors and retreivers from across the country to Wabamun Aug. 17-24, 2019. On Thursday they were at Whitewood RV Park north of the village. Josh Aldrich/Reporter/Examiner

Just to qualify a dog for the trials is an accomplishment. They already must have a grand master or master title and have successfully completed two previous CKC or American Kennel Club Master Hunt Tests since the previous national trial.

“Just to show up and come to the line the first day, as a handler and an owner you hold your head high and you’re proud of your dog. It doesn’t matter what it does on the first day, you’ve made it this far,” said Berrecloth. “This is like the Olympics of this world.”

The NMH designation is huge in the breeding world, but also a point of pride.

Many of the owners have been in the sport for more than 10 years and not all of them even hunt. In fact many of them specifically just train their dogs without ever actually picking up a shot gun.

The main objective for the competitors is the development of the breed.

“It is good to keep the working aspects of these breeds relevant,” said Marshall. “A number of people that did compete, don’t actually hunt with their dogs for birds, but they’re still training and wanting to make sure that these breeds going forward have a good, strong working ability to them.”

Louise Roberts of Mill Bay, B.C., does hunt with her husband, but it is almost a secondary function of the sport for her. She has been working with dogs since she was eight years old and entering competitions. She did not get into hunt trials until after she met her husband and this has been a great way for her to tackle two of her passions — dogs and the outdoors.

Her current line of dogs has been fine tuned for about 20 years and yielded two NMH designations in 2017 in Winnipeg. This was her sixth year at the National Master Hunt Trials and she has also served as a judge in another year.

She starts working with her hand-picked puppies at eight weeks old and they usually take several years to get to the National Master level. Her entrant this year, Taboo, was one of the younger dogs at the competition at three and a half years old.

Roberts looks for very specific traits in her dogs. Most look for a dog with drive, but she also wants a calm dog that pays attention and marks well. A dog that is too on edge and champing to go will not necessarily see where the bird goes as well. She also looks for a chemistry with her dogs.

“You want to be a partner with your dog,” she said. “You have to have a special bond with your dog to ask them to do what you want them to do at this level and have them do it, and do it with their tails up and be happy.”

The competition was headquartered out of Jubilee Hall in Wabamun but spent most of the week on reclaimed Trans Alta land north of the village and one day on land at Whitewood RV Park.

This was the first time the trials were hosted in Alberta and gave the local club an opportunity show off this corner of Canada to competitors from as far away as Quebec.

“We’re proud of where we live and what we’re offering,” said Marshall. “The scenery alone, people marvelled at the Trans Alta property that we used, it’s all reclaimed coalfields.”